A Man with Two Hounds
by TLC Middle School Language Art
Summary: A story based after the ending of Where the Red Fern Grows.


A Man With Two Hounds

Ever since Billy moved into the city, he often works late in his office on the twenty-fourth floor of the Empire State Building. He works as an economic business man, every day he would work until twelve or one o'clock late in midnight. But still, even though he works long hours, he never forgets to visit his two hounds in the forest.

Every day after work Billy would head back to his apartment, a couple miles out of the crowded city. His apartment on the thirteenth floor of the white apartment building wasn't big, but wasn't small either. To the right of Billy's room stood a very significant painted wall, the painted wall has a painting of his family in the forest he used to live in, and of course, his two hounds, Little Ann and Old Dan. Billy would often stare at the reddish brown sparkly eyes of his two hounds for hours. Drops of tears would start to drop down his eyes, when he thinks back about all the happy memories he and his hounds created together. But it all ended when Old Dan sacrificed himself to save Billy, and Little Ann wouldn't sleep nor eat after Old Dan's death, she lied beside Old Dan's grave suffering in grief until the day she too, has died.

Sometimes when Billy is done with his work he drives his black minivan to the forest. The traffic in the city is unimaginable; it caused Billy to drive for hours to get to the forest. When he gets to the forest it was usually late at night, so he carries a yellow camping lamp and stands in front of Little Ann and Old Dan's grave where red fern cover. Gazing at the red ferns he remembers his parents telling him that angels will only plant red ferns for the good and loyal ones. Then memories of Billy selling campers leftover items to earn money for the expensive hounds will pop out in his mind. He will never forget how he used to train Little Ann and Old Dan to cross rivers and hunt for raccoons. Still, from all the gleeful memories, the time when they went hunting together is the most memorable.

After driving for long hours from the forest, Billy reaches his apartment door. On the living room floor stood a light brown wooden box with a blue stamp on it that says "Club of Hounds". "Club of hounds" is an organization that sells well known expensive hounds. This club also helps owners train their hound to compete in competitions, but normally only wealthy people would buy hounds from that organization. Billy calls his family to tell them this shocking news, about how the "Club of Hounds" would actually mail something to him. Since he was just some nobody compared to the other people who owned hounds in the country. His family was thrilled to hear his joyful voice again, and they told him that they bought the hounds for him, and asks his sister to open the door for the mailman. After he hung up, he immediately opens the wooden box and there stood two red hounds, a male and a female, both with glistening dark brown eyes. He took them out of the box and named them, Ann and Dan.

Every day in the morning, Billy walks his hounds to the park and exercise until it's time for him to go back to work. But sometimes they will wake up extra early to go to the forest, Billy again teaches them how to swim across the river, and hunt. Still, when he is exercising in the forest he doesn't forget visiting Little Ann and Old Dan's grave, which is now completely covered by red fern.

No longer did Billy drown in sadness. Instead of drowning in sadness, it turned into delightful memories. Ann and Dan are just like Little Ann and Old Dan, they are intelligent, and sweet, but still somehow different from them. Ann and Dan aren't as protective nor hunt as successfully as Little Ann and Old Dan, since they don't go hunting as much, and are used to the city life. Billy doesn't go to Little Anna and Old Dan's grave as often now, he focuses more on his life now rather than on his past. Billy slowly starts to accept reality, that Little Ann and Old Dan is gone, but still deep down in his heart, no one, not even Ann and Dan can take their place in his heart.


End file.
